The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame is generally considered one of the hallmarks of musicians’ careers as it has become a matter of prestige over the years. It should be 25 years after releasing their first recordings for the artists to become eligible for the induction. The foundation has a committee that selects nominees each year, then these nominees are voted, and the ones with the highest vote total are inducted into the Hall of Fame.
The foundation embraces the spirit of rock music, but it also welcomes pop, rap, country, and electronic artists. Although it is a prestigious event, people also criticized the Hall of Fame due to its choices and its ultimate purpose. It is undoubtedly a very subjective process, so criticisms are inevitable at some point. Therefore, AC/DC lead guitarist Angus Young was once asked about his opinions, and we’re here to take a look.
What Does Angus Young Think About The Hall Of Fame?
AC/DC was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2003 by Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler. Tyler delivered a powerful speech, and then the band’s lead singer Brian Johnson spoke on behalf of the band. Years before AC/DC’s induction, Angus Young joined an interview in 1996 and talked about what he would think about the band’s future possible place in the Hall of Fame.
Young initially didn’t seem very enthusiastic about the induction in his answer by defining it as ‘celebrity golf.’ Then, he said that he doesn’t care about these kinds of award ceremonies and sees them as ‘backslapping.’ The guitarist implied that he didn’t much believe in the sincerity of this kind of environment and gave an example to prove his point.
Later on, during the interview, he recalled when Little Richard had a Grammy award and stated that he was saddened by how he was treated during the ceremony. It seemed like disrespectful behavior to him when they gave the award backstage. Thus, Young seems to think of their induction to the Hall of Fame as something trivial as he considers that their success doesn’t depend on the awards they received.
Here is what Angus Young said about the Hall of Fame:
“For me, it’s a little bit celebrity golf. We’ve never been a band to sort of sit around and say, ‘Give us a prize.’ I don’t like when they have the sort of award things. It’s all a little bit backslapping. I was very saddened. I remember a couple of years back. I was in Los Angeles. I think they were having some award thing, and they had Little Richard, and they gave it; it was a Grammy thing.
And I mean, I grew up on a lot of that music, so I love all that, the blues and from Jerry Lee Lewis, Presley, and I love all that rock and roll done at that period. They give the guy an award backstage. It was still like saying, ‘You were a great band but came in the back door, would you? We don’t want you to sing with the other people.'”
You can listen to the full interview below.
